Adrenaline Vault has posted an interview on Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, talking to Headfirst designer Andrew Brazier about their upcoming 3D horror adventure, which is based on the Call of Cthulhu pen-and-paper RPG. As the title is still quite early into production, the article doesn't go into a lot of specifics, but here is a quote about their planned use of real-time physics to highten the experience:

Our advanced real-time physics will be an essential part of the gameplay and atmosphere creation. Most games these days feature an element of physics, such as the bouncing of a grenade or the pushing of a crate, but we will be moving it forward a lot further by accurately simulating physics on most objects in the game. Therefore, if you throw dynamite into a warehouse, when it explodes, the windows might smash, debris will be thrown about, and the walls might collapse. This is not just some scripted event; the force of the explosion will be calculated by the physics engine, and everything will react accordingly.

In terms of gameplay, this has far-reaching implications as it means there will be a number of ways to solve any particular puzzle. For example, should you need to move a heavy object, pouring oil on the floor would reduce the friction. However, this would also reduce the friction for you, meaning you, as well as other creatures, will slip around all over the place. Water will behave realistically, so objects dropped into it will float or submerge, depending on their weight. We can also simulate events such as driving a car or piloting a plane.